Following another unfortunate rainout a few weeks ago, Speedway 95 stepped up once again this past Saturday to allow the Ladies Acceleration Tour to run one of their biggest races of the year – a 30-lap and $1000-to-win venture presented by Tooney Looney Rentals & Backyard Events.
Instead of traditional qualifying heats, the tour ran their first-ever time trials on Saturday. Destiny Overlock logged the fastest lap with an 18.38, while Rhonda Crain (18.6) and Dalaney Dunn (18.7) trailed closely behind.
Tour founder Betty Nelson decided to up the ante even more prior to the start of the feature, offering the top 3 drivers the opportunity to start from the trail for an additional $100 in prize winnings. Dalaney Dunn was the only driver to take her up on the deal, starting shotgun on the field.
The top 3 drivers remained tight knit for the better half of the race, leaving it anybody’s race to win. Things got even closer as a yellow flag on lap 20 brought the field back together for a final dash to the finish.
Destiny Overlock elected to start on the outside pole, which put seasoned Speedway 95 veteran Rhonda Crain on the inside. Overlock powered ahead on the restart and maintained her advantage over Rhonda Crain and Dalaney Dunn in the closing laps of the race, scoring the feature win.
Unfortunately, Destiny Overlock was disqualified in post-race technical inspection and the win was awarded to Rhonda Crain, who took home the $1,000 payday.
Fellow racer Zach Audet, of Audet’s Automotive & Salvage, also stepped up to sponsor the “Fastest Lap” award, which went to the fastest driver on lap 19 pending tech. Dalaney Dunn took home the honor with a top speed of 19.02.
Cathy Hubble won a $50 contingency prize for being the last-place car in time trials, which was sponsored by OG Motors. Speedart Creations by Mallory Kutz also stepped in to sponsor $42 for the driver with the fastest lap time, which also went to Rhonda Crain.
Following the race, all Ladies Acceleration Tour drivers had the opportunity to meet the new track owner (come 2026) and NASCAR veteran, Ricky Craven. They also invited current track owner Del Merritt into a group photo and wished him the best in his upcoming retirement and thanked him for the endless support that he has shown for the tour.
New series champions will be crowned this Saturday at Wiscasset Speedway and boy, the points race sure is tight in the Hornets!
Saturday’s race resulted in a big shake-up in the points, and Chrissy Rizzuto now finds herself at the top of the leaderboard, just 5 points ahead of this year’s “Queen of the Oval”, Dalaney Dunn. Dunn holds an 11-point margin between herself and Rhonda Crain in third while Cathy Hubble and Destiny Overlock enter Championship Day tied for fourth in points.
The green flag flies at 1:00 this Saturday, October 4th and will feature a 20-lap race for the Lady Hornets and a special $500-to-win race for the Lady Outlaws, which is presented by Richard Spaulding Roofing in honor of his late father, Richard Spaulding, Sr.
In true Wiscasset fashion, adult grandstand admission is only $5 while kids 6 and under get in for free.
Continue to support your local short tracks and touring series and I hope to see you there!
